Tag: sitcom

F.R.I.E.N.D.S- A Show that makes you Love your Imperfect Life.

I am sure most of you might be aware of the famous American television sitcom named- “Friends” and for some of you( I think many of you), it might be your favorite. I, myself am a very big fan of this sitcom. I guess some of you might have this question in your mind- “Why write about a sitcom that is already well-known and loved by most?” Well, my answer would be because this show made me feel that your ordinary life is beautiful. And even if it makes me one of those cliched fans, I am fine with it.

About F.R.I.E.N.D.S

The sitcom Friends was created by David Crane and Martha Kauffman which aired on NBC for ten years from 1994 to 2004. It is a story of 6 friends starring Jennifer Aniston as ‘Rachel Green’, Courteney Cox as ‘Monica Gellar’, Lisa Kudrow as ‘Phoebe Buffay’, Matt LeBlanc as ‘Joey Tribbiani’, Matthew Perry as ‘ Chandler Bing’ and David Schwimmer as ‘Ross Gellar’ residing in the New York city. The story revolves around the lives of these 6 friends showing how they deal with their daily lives, relationship problems and career issues.

Friends was a critically acclaimed television series that went on to become one of the most successful shows of all time. The series received 62 Primetime Emmy nominations, with its eighth season winning Outstanding Comedy Series in 2002. The show was voted no. 7 on Empire magazine’s The 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time and no. 21 on TV Guide’s 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time.

F.R.I.E.N.D.S teaches its audience to get through the difficult times

  • Rachel
    Rachel Green, a woman who belonged from a rich family, who never thought of taking a job flees on her wedding day because she was not in love with her fiancée and restarts her life on her own without taking any financial support from her father. She struggles initially, working as a waitress in a coffee shop for 2 years after which she finally quits to pursue her career in Fashion. Gradually, she ends up working for good fashion companies and establishes identity of her own.

    Another striking incident in Rachel’s life was when she got pregnant with a child on a one-night-stand with her ex-boyfriend Ross. She was obviously scared and unprepared but she learns and manages to be a good single mother.
  • Monica
    Monica with her dream of opening her own restaurant or becoming head chef of one, struggles in New York City for many years until finally she becomes one.

    She also wanted to be in a committed relationship and get married one day. In the journey of finding “the guy” for her, she gets into very unusual and unstable relationships which sometimes breaks her heart until finally she falls in love with her best-friend, Chandler with whom she gets married.

    Monica also always wanted to have children and broke-up with her ex-boyfriend, Richard, whom she loved very much because he didn’t want them. After she got married to Chandler, they tried to have kids but there were some complications so they decided to adopt.
  • Phoebe
    Phoebe, the weird but kindest one in the group had a rough life since childhood as her father abandons her family and her mother commits suicide after few years. She faces all kinds of troubles- not having a shelter, food and any guardians.

    As a grown-up she works as a masseuse, always wanting a family of her own. Finally, she marries Mike and starts her new life with him.
  • Joey
    Joey, a handsome young man who pursues a career in acting struggles to make his ends meet because of his unstable career choice and not getting a good role in a movie or a show. Nevertheless, he never gives up and finally gets a show in the end.
  • Chandler
    Chandler, the sarcastic guy of the show, had commitment issues because of his parents’ divorce when we was a child. He panics during the times when he realizes that things are getting serious with his girlfriend, Monica. But because of his true love and Monica’s support he overcomes his commitment issues and lives a happily married life with her.
  • Ross
    Ross, a paleontologist marries a woman who after seven years of marriage realizes that she is a lesbian which leads to their divorce. He marries another woman, named Emily after few years and that marriage also ends because he takes the name of his ex girlfriend, Rachel during his wedding vows. The series of divorce doesn’t end here because he gets divorced again as he gets married to Rachel in Vegas while drunk and not in his senses.

Conclusion

No matter how difficult life got for these 6 friends, they always fought, learned and moved forward. They always kept hope of better things and worked towards their flaws. They all lived ordinary lives like we all do, faced struggles like we all do but smiled through the pain. I think that is all what we should do. Whatever is the pain or struggle in our lives, with the right set of people, we can always overcome it, some people are always going to believe in you. I would like to quote some lines from the theme song of F.R.I.E.N.D.S-

“So no one told you life was gonna be this way
Your job’s a joke, you’re broke
Your love life’s DOA
It’s like you’re always stuck in second gear
When it hasn’t been your day, your week, your month
Or even your year, but
I’ll be there for you”

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Why I Can’t Get Over F.R.I.E.N.D.S

It happens with just about everything in my life: After enough time of taking note of an equivalent song over and once again or having an equivalent thing for lunch every day of the week, eventually, I get disgusted by the repetition. Eventually, I need a break or a change of scenery. But the one thing that I never get disgusted during this life is watching Friends episodes because I could watch that show again and again. No matter what percentage times I watch that show — regardless of what percentage marathons I host — I will be able to never get disgusted watching Friends. There is no season I wouldn’t watch, no episode I wouldn’t tease. That television program is my lobster: the thing I select to like for the remainder of my life, for the remainder of eternity.

And I have some pretty good reasons for it.

1. All the characters in FRIENDS are simple, with no extra fluff, the spoiled but independent Rachel, the neat freak and formerly fat Monica, the goofy and lovable Chandler, the weird hippie Phoebe, the intellectual Ross, and the lovely, food lover Joey. You connect with them in some way or the other. All the characters are downright lovable and they grow on you.

2. The situations they went through are realistic for every twenty-something. All of the characters were struggling either with their careers or their love lives, or both simultaneously.

3. Their jokes are evergreen, I laughed once and I will laugh a 1000 times at the same joke. The humor is intelligent, the sarcasm is unbeatable. It was not like only one or two characters were entitled to a good punch line, in fact the writers made sure that every good joke and punch line was distributed equally among all the characters.

4. Some of the dialogues, phrases and scenes are undoubtedly iconic, be it the “PIVOT” scene, “WE WERE ON A BREAK”, Monica’s “I KNOW, I KNOW”, Janice’s “OH MY GOD”, Joey’s “HOW YOU DOIN” they are simply the best.

5. It makes you believe in love, no matter how much of a cynic you are. If Chandler can find a soulmate, so can you. And that falling in love with your best friend can eventually end beautifully. When you have your lobster, hold on to them.

6. But most importantly, FRIENDS continues to re-instill the faith in us that eventually, we will all have a happy ending. There is no other sitcom that can make you feel as wonderful as FRIENDS, because it’s a reflection of our lives- a story of 6 20-somethings trying to find their way in the world, just like we are, and of finally making it. Their happy ending is the best happy ending anyone could ever ask for. The show may have ended, but the legacy will always remain. And that makes every FRIENDS fan ecstatic.